The invention disclosed herein relates generally to data storage systems in computer networks and, more particularly, to improvements in storing and verifying accurate archiving of electronic data.
Storage architectures used by individual computers or data stores to store electronic data typically include volatile storage media such as Random Access Memory “RAM”, and one or more nonvolatile storage devices such as hard drives, tape drives, optical disks, and other storage devices that form a part of or are directly associated with an individual computer. A network of computers such as a Local Area Network “LAN” or a Wide Area Network “WAN”, typically store electronic data via servers or stand-alone storage devices accessible via the network. Stand-alone storage devices are generally connected to one individual computer or a network of computers. Network storage devices commonly known in the art typically include physical drives in which tapes or other storage media are stored and a robotic arm which is used to place the tapes or storage media into the drives. Examples of network storage devices include networkable tape drives, optical libraries, Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks “RAID”, CD-ROM jukeboxes, and other devices.
Electronic data is typically archived according to a schedule, for example, data is designated to be copied and stored once a day. Generally, data is archived in the event that an original copy becomes unavailable, for example, the data is destroyed, lost or otherwise inaccessible. In general, the data is directed to a system component to be copied or backed up to storage media, such as an auxiliary copy, copy backup or quick recovery copy. Some systems check the copy or backup to ensure the copy or backup is accurate. Generally, the accuracy check includes steps such as analyzing each data item copied and comparing it to the original data, or other method. Such verification methods can be lengthy and time consuming for copies of large volumes of data, requiring significant use of system resources. Alternatively, some systems use cursory data checks, such as comparing filenames, which is less time consuming, however, it yields a less reliable data check.